The familiarity and comfort that come with playing at home are significant advantages and the New York Rangers are hoping that a home heavy January schedule can help them get right back into the playoff race. The Blueshirts have six of their remaining eight games at home and after the team’s winless trip to Western Canada, they will need to take advantage of these home games.
This Week: Two at Home, One on the Road
The Rangers start with the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night at MSG. The good news for the Rangers is that the Avs are on a road trip of their own, and will have to play back-to-back games as Colorado will play the Islanders Monday night. However, the Avs are 7-1-1 in their last nine road contests and 9-2-1 in their last 12. Colorado is also 11-2-2 against the Eastern Conference. Then on Thursday, the Rangers host the New Jersey Devils, who had a three-game winning streak snapped last Saturday by Colorado. The 15-20-6 Devils will host the Islanders on Tuesday night before making their way to MSG. The Rangers finish out the week by taking a trip to meet the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues. Realistically, going 2-1 this week would be a nice start to making a playoff push.
Next Stretch Includes Three Games with the Islanders
Before the All-Star break, the Rangers will play three of their four games against the Islanders. Two of these games are home, and one is out on Long Island. The Blueshirts will also host one game with Artemi Panarin’s former team, the Columbus Blue Jackets. That means that after a quick trip to the midwest, the Rangers will get stay in the Metropolitan area for the rest of the month. The first game after the All-Star break is a home game on January 31 against the Detroit Red Wings. The Islanders have also struggled recently, losing 5 of their last seven going 2-4-1. The team that stormed through the season’s first seven weeks, going 16-3-1, has won fewer than half its games (9-8-2) since Nov. 21. A Rangers team that could go 4-1 through that stretch could show the league that they are playoff ready.